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Monday, September 8, 2014

Agents of SHIELD Season 1 Review

Today I will be reviewing Agents of SHIELD's first season, and this is a spoiler-free review so that those that have either not seen the series, or dropped it after the lackluster start can decide whether or not to pick up the series.
Agents of SHIELD follows the events of the Avengers with Coulson being sent back into action with a new team to takedown treats ranging from alien technology to evil organizations. After strong initial ratings, Agents of SHIELD is a series that has been met with a very mixed response by fans and casual viewers alike. Due to the inconsistent and somewhat slow start, many viewers dropped the series, but those that did, do not know what they are missing when the second half of the season delivered in spades with strongly written episodes are capitalized on the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
The Good: Likable characters, Whedon's witty dialogue, Amazing Captain America: The Winter Soldier tie-in episodes, Unexpected plot twists, Effective use of comic book source material, Coulson is back!, Great chemistry between the cast, Impressive action scenes for TV, Great humor, Satisfying reveal (even if it took too long), Memorable quotes, Firefly reference, Bill Paxton was freaking awesome!, Fantastic finale,

The Bad: Lackluster start, A few so-so episodes, First half had too much glossy and cheap lighting, Problematic pacing, 

Plot: 8.1/10- Agents of SHIELD's writing is often inconsistent during the first half with the episodes feeling as though they are buying time by meandering along with a non-serialize episodic format. While episodic series can work out well, one or two episodes of the first half felt a little too derivative. For the majority of the first half however, the series was fun and incorporated a lot of sci-fi and comic book type elements, even if the writing was not always the best. Despite this, the first half did have some truly excellent episodes like "F.Z.Z.T." and "The Bridge." Unfortunately, the Thor: The Dark World tie-in, or lack-thereof, felt like a missed opportunity for a crossover into the bigger cinematic universe.
On the other hand, the second half of Agents of SHIELD is excellent! While the first two episodes of the second half were good, but not great, from episode 13, "T.R.A.C.K.S.," onward the series became focused and finally revealed some of the secrets that it was holding back for too long. In addition, the series took on a darker and more serious tone. Without spoiling anything, those that watched Captain America: The Winter Soldier will be greatly rewarded with how the series tied into the film's storyline. Also, watching the series in conjunction with the film provided an even more rewarding experience as the series left hints at what is to come with the film fulfilling on the hints in the best way possible.

Characterization: 9.2/10- In typical Whedon fashion, Agents of SHIELD is a very character driven series with an ensemble of likable characters. Unlike his previous work however, Joss Whedon only had a hand in writing the series and directed only the first episode, leaving the series to his brother Jed and his sister-in-law Maurissa. While they are not as consistent as Joss with their witty writing, they certainly know what they are doing most of the time. For example, Firefly managed to create and establish some of the best and most lovable characters on television. On the other hand, Agents of SHIELD took quite a bit longer to establish the characters on a similar level with the exception of Coulson, who we all were attached to from what happened in the films. In fact, the biggest problem with the characterization is that the characters are shown to have secrets and inner problems, which is great, but it takes nearly half a season before anything is revealed.
Fortunately however, once the characters are suitably established, they are likable and develop strong chemistry and believable relationships. Fitz and Simmons are among the most lovable characters, and their character arcs are satisfying. Melinda May is the cold and stoic "Ice Queen" of the team that kicks all sorts of butt throughout the series. While her character could have been developed more, what we got was adequate. Of the cast, Skye is the most inconsistent ranging from being a very well executed character to being more of an unnecessary addition. By the end of the series however, more of her backstory is teased with some unexpected twists. Agent Grant Ward is an interesting case considering that his character goes through quite a drastic change, albeit one that takes some time to see, but it certainly works out superbly in the end. 
Aside from the main cast, the series introduces characters from the comics like Agent Garrett and Victoria Hand, as well as fun cameos by SHIELD Agents from the Marvel movies, which I shall not spoil.

Action: 9.2/10- Aside from Arrow, Agents of SHIELD delivers the best action scenes on network television. While they may be significantly inferior to most movies, in comparison to television, the action and choreography is often quite good. 

Acting: 9.3/10- While a few members of the cast took some time settling into their roles, Clark Gregg was as strong as ever returning as Coulson. 
Iain De Caestecker and Elizabeth Henstridge as Fitz and Simmons had instant chemistry from the onset. Brett Dalton's performance varied from dull to great later in the series, and Ming-Na Wen effectively played the stoic character. Chloe Bennet as Skye varied at times, but ended up settling into her role well by the end. Bill Paxton was positively outstanding as Agent Garrett! His veteran presence brought a lot to the series giving the show exactly what it needed. Amy Acker has a small guest role in one episode, and you can never have enough Amy Acker.

Special effects: 7.2/10- For TV, Agents of SHIELD's special effects are not especially bad. However, due to the fact that superpowers are not particularly conducive to television, some effects are awful. On the other hand, the sets are mostly very good, even if the SHIELD offices are noticeably subpar compared to the ones in The Winter Soldier. My biggest problem with the effects and direction is that the first half of the series implemented very poor use of lighting, thus giving the series a cheap look and feel.
Soundtrack: 8.3/10- Bear McCreary, notable for composing the scores for The Walking Dead and Battlestar Galactica, does a fine job scoring the series with a memorable, albeit short, main theme. Unfortunately, the majority of the score is not available anywhere for me to listen to on its own.

Humor: 9.3/10- While not all of the humor hit the mark, most of it did. The dialogue between the characters is fun and filled with memorable quotes. 
Something that I forgot to mention during my review of episode 20 is that when Coulson learns of some interesting news, he just stares and utters a "Huh," which is obviously a reference to Captain Malcolm's response when he discover River on his ship in the first episode (gifs below).

Entertainment Value: 9.8/10- As a massive fan of Marvel, having the ability to watch something from the Marvel universe every week is incredibly satisfying. Almost every episode had little references for me to geek-out about and had something for me to get excited about. Even though I record everything on a DVR, Agents of SHIELD is the only series that I had to watch every night on Tuesday.

Overall: 8.6/10- Agents of SHIELD is truly a tale of two half seasons. The first half of the season, while fun, did not quite live up to the high expectations fans have come to expect from Marvel, and if I were to rate it apart from the first half, it would receive a 7.5/10. On the other hand, the second half, with the exception one or two episodes, turned out superbly as it became more serialized, darker, and tied in directly with the Marvel Cinematic universe as an extension to the overall universe rather than a sidestory, and rating it individually, it would receive a 9.6/10, which is how I end up with the final rating of 8.6/10. Anyone interested in the Marvel movies should most certainly be watching Agents of SHIELD, even if you have to slog through a few subpar episodes in the beginning.

Closing comments: While Agents of SHIELD certainly has plenty of room for improvement, thanks to a superb second half, the only season finale of the year not to disappoint, and a healthy dosage of Marvel fanservice, Agents of SHIELD ended up being one of the better shows on television.

Recommended for: Marvel fans, Joss Whedon fans, Sci-Fi fans, Comic Book fans,

For my full spoiler reviews of each episode, as well as other TV reviews, you can click here.

If you want to contact us or have any questions please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.

12 comments:

  1. Great review!! :) I agree, Agents of SHIELD was really well done! :D The second half was amazing and I loved the tie-in with Captain America: The Winter Soldier- I was literally geeking out after the huge reveal at the end, which was fun :). I really liked the entire cast, especially Coulson and Skye, and I can't wait to see where all the characters go next season! :D.
    And the twist was one of the best I've come across in a while, so that was cool. And yes, loved Amy Acker in the role she had! And Bill Paxton was great as well!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks! :) I know! The reveal was so cool! Same here, I really like the direction Skye is heading.

      -James

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  2. interesting review if i was to pick it back up were would you suggest i start

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    1. Well, you kind of have to watch the entire series to understand what is happening, but it is not that long, so it should not be hard to catch up.

      -James

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  3. Awesome review, James!
    While yeah, the first half of the season was a lot more slower, I think the main problem with the series was all the breaks they took-it was like a break every two weeks!-but the show definitely has it's so-so episodes (I'm not too big a fan of 'The Hub' or 'The Well' to be honest) but then, so does every show. There are tons of twists in the show that just made me shout 'WHAAT?!?!' at my computer (I used to watch it on the computer). The show, in my opinion, has so many likeable characters in the cast, it's hard to pick favorites! Even the villians are likeable! But, Skye and Fitz are my two favorite characters in the series (with Coulson and Jemma and May and Trip and even Ward right behind them).
    I might do a review similiar to this, I didn't even think of reviewing the season to prepare for Season 2-it's right around the corner, well, sort of-but I might!
    AWESOME review, James!
    -Tegan

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    1. Thank you Tegan!
      Yeah, those episodes were not as good, and I agree, those twists were very shocking!
      I'd be interested in reading a review for the entire season.

      -James

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  4. Good review James! It wasn't the greatest show ever but I certainly enjoyed it, and am looking forward to season 2. Hopefully they'll iron out those first season kinks and it'll be even better! Fitz-Simmons is the best.

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    1. Thanks Sarah! Yep, if they can fix the few problems from the first season, they will have something special on their hands. And yes, Fitz-Simmons are the best!

      -James

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  5. Good review! Oh my gosh, I love that "huh" tie into Firefly, that's so cool! It's like when they reference Firefly on Castle; I caught more of those on the last rewatch round with Mom... I know I will finish this at some point, I just need to get in the mood I guess...

    ~Jamie

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    Replies
    1. Yep, you should definitely catch up on the series.

      -James

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  6. Click agents of shield season 3 netflix watch free online now. I have been anticipating this show for quite some time now, and my expectations were high. Let me start out by saying that I am a big Marvel and Avengers fan, so there was no question for me whether to watch this show or not. The fact that Clark Gregg (plays Phil Coulson) was in the cast only heightened my expectations and excitement! The pilot was, in my humble opinion, very decent.

    I wasn't blown away, but my expectations were met and I was intrigued by the story and entertained throughout the episode. I will definitely be tuning in for the next couple of episodes and ignore some of the bad reviews that I've been reading. The show is interesting and has potential to become a great show that will last for many seasons, which i hope it will. My advice to you is, ignore the bad comments and reviews of the show and go take a look for yourself, you wont regret it! Watch movies on yidio very great!

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